NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11512, 19 February 1903, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The increase in the Dunedia city t*£9»)|| tion for the year was £10,206. '.'? At a statutory meeting of the 'tyj&.c makariri Harbour Board on Tuesday «n**;T ing, Mr W. Doubled&y was ifrelectfixjf Chairman. ■ t:J V;M£ An improved appliance for legs of cows is an article which a Wea-X ■ gamii settler has patented. A Valley farmer has aJeo proTimonaHy , -j*-7ij tented a yoke for pigs. - •;,;-;<i An oW Canterbury farmer, who * &*&i] spent some five years in South Africa;'**?*,-v that during his experience he brt a*w -|- seea euch a growth of grass in tfte'Jfiw*" V Canterbury district as there is to'b»" seen this sea/son. •/ — , ••• J^ The Flaxbcrarne estate, of which hae been given that it will be ot>mpal»arßy;|| taken under the Land for Settlements &*"s eolidation Act, contains 56,155 ******'% which the Minister of Lands first class 5000 acres, second clatt 25JDMp acres, and third class 28,155 acres. '■ /i| Mr E. Beelham, S.M., sat at thi Age Pension Court yesterday. He B««»*5s 41 renewal at £18, one at £17, £15, one at £13, one at £10, and t*«-*M £8. Three new applications atl£lß WWS also flsHoured. The Court «i 2 Bit egua,** J| February 27th. • Vg® A'telegram from GreymonUi •Wβ .'jjFjl the eupnene Court acltion a £ a * ni *.,s!2'! Union Steam Ship Company for, *"*,;!§ damagea, brought by widow of etone, who you killed on the Gre !™*2rsi wharf by a fall of timber some roontb* •WtJ has been settled out of Court, the paying £600. J|| Inspector C. B. ilaesey stopped M* U sale yesterday morning of caeca of barracouta at the finh elsewhere. The fish, which were sngSSa quently forwarded to the destructor, wgg*|gj from Dunedin and Port Chalmers, bod been on the road since Monday "9ij||| There is little doubt that the l»h|s||j in good condition when packed, affected b/ the hot weather- |§lfflH

p, ■ • The Sumrer School picnic, the party B umbermg 150. went to Lyttelton by the 8.55 tnJnyeswrAay morning and was taken to Governor's Bay. ■ Mr Jauv« BrittendMi, who is lying at ibe Lytte-ton casual word, was irtill uncon■S£ mtenUv. He i< evMenily suffering from injuries to tho bead and side. The location Department is being asked tv the Education Wd to arrange w.tn iL Riilwav Department to have the 8.20 a.m. train. The San Francisco mail sU-amer arriTed at Auckland late last night. The Wanganui Garrison Band has decided to sever ite connection with the North Waad Batd Association, ana join w*th the toutLrn banes, who, with Wanganui, are SL»n«fied with the present, Association. lT forming the New Zealand A«ociaU>n, the idea is to hold annual contests a.terlately in the. North and fcouth Islands.

At the CSioraJ Hail yesterday evening, thfW. J- LyaJ *p(»ke irom t*e parable «"the Pharisee and tue publican as found S St. Luke xviii., 9-10. There was a .rood attendance, and the iniwmr*gjorld by the Key. Dr. JSnna. Mi*«. Cowan Hud Henderson rang as a duet, perish with cold and vim hunger. About seven o'clock yesterday morning . C was discovered in the Ashburtou *6tt«lard" olHoe. The proprietor, Mr IST eiei-p. on the prcmuwi. Tl.e tiro originated * tiw machine , lhe b ' SSextingukbed the outbieak witli bucket water. lie floor w« burnt lai other minor damage was dene, AmeeUig of the committee of the Christchurch Prison Gate Mission was held last ,"" iwr in the office of Messrs Kaye and Outer 'the Bey. Canon CoaUe being in the chair. The Visitors' reports were read and dealt with. The subject of mebnate horn«, whioh had b«en under djecuwjon at the last few meetings, was further dealt with.

Wβ have received from the Canterbury Frozen .ueat Company a novel memento of the twentieth anniversary of the foucdaAion of the Company. It» a large fchermonuter, mounted, wiUi a weather glass, on a light wood frame, which bears an appropriate lejrend. The fact that the glass stands at "Set Fair" m an omen, rt w to be hoped, lor tie future of the Company.

Employment on the Midland and Waipara-Cheviot railway works was found for 104 men by the local Labour Bureau during the last four weeks. Nine men obtained private employment during the same period through the agency of the Bureau.

Not quite sufficient damage was done by the fire at the drill shed yesterday niorning to necessitate an official enquiry. A notice, signed by the district adjutant (Captain Hobday), and attached to tlie door of the drill slhed, states that persons using the shed do so at feheir own risk, "as it is not now in a sale condition."

The directors of the Lancaster Park Ground Company me% on Tuesday, when proposab for tlhe improvement of the Park were considered- The suggestion made by the Canterbury Oricket Association with recurd to providing a new scoring-board was favourably considered, and' the matter was left in the hands of the Chairman. It was decided Hhat a new gate far cyoliets ehou.d be erected on the east side of the present gates, and to make arrangements for cyclists going through in charge of their maahines, instead of compelling them to pass bicycles through a separate gate.

Included in recent additions to the Museum is a curious breastplate, known as a chiefs breastplate, from Fiji. It is made of pearl oyster , shell, which forms the centre piece, and is surrounded with ihln slices of whale's teeth, the whole tied together with string of native manufacture. A Fijian flesh fork, of wood, used in caniJbalistio feasts, has also been added. Captain Fisher, late of the Tenth Contingent, has presented two curious, clay figures, made by the Kaffirs, Eehowe* Zululand, tod probably used as fetishes. An old English painted earthenware dish, probably manufactured in Leeds in the lSch century, hae been presented by Mr H. G. EU, M.H.R.

Btook drying in North Canterbury under tije foeat and nortb-weet wind of yesterday, wm more advanced than it has previously been since hamet began. Stooks of oats, which had stood out three weeks, and were drying only slowly in the middle, were vastly unproved in a few hours. The etanding corn is all now ripening* very irelL All round (writes our correspondent) the fields, in which there ie now a wealth of etooke, form a sight worth seeing. Persons in town who wish to see an ideal harvest and gain some knowledge of what Canterbury can produce should, within the next few days, make an excursion into the grain-growing districts. It hae been mggwted that a round trip by some of the niOway lines would be useful as affording •n object lesson on crops.

A committee meeting of the Pioneer Amateur Bicycle and Athletic Club "was ield toet night. Present—Messrs E. W. Cardale (chairman), P. Menzies, 0. S. Harper, F. S. Harley, B. Wallace, and J. R Green (secretary). The dait-e of the Autumn Meeting waa fixed for Saturday, March 21st. It wae decided to hod a special committee meeting on Wednesday next, for the purpose of selecting a team to represent the club at the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Championship Meeting, to be held at Dtroedin on March 7th. Arrangements were made for holding a 100 yds nnd 220 yds test races on the 25th inst. Mr H. S. Batchelor was appointed the cWb'e delegate at the preliminary meeting of tie Canterbury centre of the .Athletic AmdaHaon.

According to a Press gram. Audame Melba met with a most enthoeiartio reception at her first concert in tie colony in His Alajeetnr'e Theatre, Dun•din, last night. The building was filled in every available part, constituting, at the prices, what must have been a record house lor New Zealand. The general public crowded the streets to get a glimpse of tiie Div*, and catch the strains of her voice through the doors. A tremendous ovation followed her singing of the mad eceno from •"Hamlet," which waa the greatest of all eer efforts. A wealth of floral tribute* waa bestowed on the. famous singer, who sang «x times, and brought a brilliant concert to a clnee with Tosti'e "Good-bye."

At the meeting of the New Brighton School Committee on Tuesday night, the chairman drew attention to the f«t that owing to ihe alterations in the echool buildings and additions now being made by the Board of Education, toe echool bad not yet assembled, although the holidays had been extended and tho echool lad been closed for nine weeks, and it appeared that the whole of the echool would **>*_ be available on Monday next. The dttiman stated that although the time for the completion of the contract had expired, m» Board of Education would not make •ay exceptional provision to enable the ■chool to be reopened. Mr G. W. Bishop, tie headmaster, stated that possibly three w the schoolroo'ne would be available on Monday next, and by giving the classes «» half-hour's work "and on© half-hour's relaxation, a start could be made, and this *m decided on.

Something in the nature of a etxika ocevni at the Government poultry depot, **th etreet, on Monday. For some time I** cenplamte have been made by the pfacken to the manager that certain of the s*n lrero in the habit of selecting good birds, with t&e result that the last three °Li ma ™ a We ™ plucking, «nd took about three times as long to pluck v ordinary birds. On Monday, it is stated, toe manager saw a roan feeling the birds *n a coop in order Jo pick out the best He remonstrated, and the man weied the charge, and further words took !*■*•» Moulting in the man being diecharg«L .Thereupon the remainder of the men, m whose interests the protest was made, wtefc also, declaring tbeir intention of apP*"«ng to the Minister in charge of the through Mr Ell, M.H.B. pluckent have since been engaged, as work is now fairly slack, they vnl be sufficient for a time. When ffiorermea are wanted ihe manager intends Co obtain them locally if possible, and not, m haa been stated, from other parte of the

The Union Company hoe notified Colorel Sommerviile that the South Island competitors attending the _ annual rifle shooting meeting will be allowed a twenty per cent, reduction on the return fart-s of their steamers.

Mr J. M. Turnbull, representing the! Harvest Festival Committee of the Canterbury A. and P. Association, attended at the Addington Salevarda yesU-rday, and received a iar'ge numbt-r of offera of stock acd produce tor the festival.

The Garrison Band will play the. following programme on the Rotunda th.s evening:—March, "The Last Stand"; election, "La Poupee" ; clarionet «010, "Almora' , (Bandsman J. Sinclair); wautz, "Nid d'Amour" ; cornet w> '.o, "The Maid, of Malabar" (Ueputy-Bandmaster Tankard); Mazurka Russe, "Czarine"; lancers, "Old Acquaintence"; march, "Mankittan Beach."

At present the Addingt.cn rai.way workshops are working thite sliiits of men throughout the twenty-four hours to cope with the pressure of work, ami as better lighting is required, Messrs Turnbull and Jones have eecureu the contract to erect a WestJighonso engine and generator, come forty arc lamps, and two hundred glow lamps in certain sections of the shops, ihe wot k will be completed within thr«; weeks.

M. Nicholas Kruaoff, the Russian Agricultural commissioner, who is now in Chr:su?hurch, after his railway journey lo Lincoln, expresses hinvelf surprised at the dirty etate of the railway cars, and has no -hesitation in stating his conviction tliat there is no more comfort, in the lirst-ciasa cars tlian there is in Uβ second. This he considers inequitable, considering the difference in the rates. % For the year ending December 31st, 1902, the Scnool Commissioners of Canterbury received in rents, eU\, t-h« sum of £19,561 13-s Bd. Of this amount the sum of £13,000 2» 5d was allocated to tim North Canterbury Education Board, and £3143 17s .d to the south Canterbury Board. The total expenditure amounted to £17,193 0s 2d, leaving a credit bautn.ee of £2368 13s 6d. The assets anvount to £4330 12a Id, and the liabilities to £309 15s lid. A c|eep artesian well is now attracting attention at Kaiapoi. For many years the wells were eunk at depths of 20it to SOtt, and tnen a time came when tubes have been sunk to 190 ft and to 230 ft. In sinking a well for the public baths on some ot the •highest land ot u-e town, a 3m bore has reached 412 ft, at a cost of £190. On Tuesday, with, a heavier driver, and the 3in tube in clay, the pipes were sent down 6it, and it is unought that if water is tapped mere will be n supply that will repay the cent and anxiety on, the question of the success of the welL The fourth wool sale of this season* series will take place at the Canteibury Hail to-day, when there will be 6840 bales offered, comprised in 207 lots. The order of sale and tue number of bales to be sold by each broker is as follows: —Messrs Dolgety and Co. 1420, J. T. Ford and Co. bo, Friedlander Bros. 327, F. C. Tabart 6i9, H. Mateon and Co. 1274, New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company 9(0, National Mortgage and Agency Company 215, New Zealand Farmers' Cooperative Association 1020, Messrs Pyne and Co. 1184. The total offerings this seaeon at the local sales now amount to 40,760 bales. Messrs J. Ballantyne and Company announce the closing of "Dunstable House" all day To-day (Thursday) for the annual picnic of their employees. They re-open «gin To-morrow (Friday), when the regular business hours will be observed. 7384 The D.I-C. annual picnic will be held to-day, and in consequence the Company's warehouse will be cloeed all day. 21 Strange and Co.'s entire premises will be closed all day to-day owing to the firm's employees' annual picnic eventuating. Tomorrow (Friday) Strange's great end-of-summer sale will be resumed at; 10 o'clock, when the fresh attractions will doubtless draw crowds of buyers. 46 Don't buy a plough or a- cultivator without carefully examining the "Excelsiors"— trial given. Morrow, Bassett and Co. 7412 Simplicity is a desirable feature. Take a complicated piece of machinery, and it takes an expert to understand it. If you aro not an expert mechanic, beware of the complicated bicycle. Choose the simplest for it is .ess apt to get out of order. MaseeyHarris Bicycles are marvels of simplicity. Major Taylor rides a Massey. Depot, 148 Cashel street. 6436 Wanted Known—Jewellery aale, for one month, of watches, clocks, rings, brooches, and all other classed of jeweileiy, sold at ! reatly reduced prices. K. Grieshaber, Matchmaker and Jeweller, 155 Colombo street. 7463 Storekeepers, country residents, and all in search of drapery under cost price (in many instances half London cost) should visit Beath's Great Clearance. Further reductions for ba-ance of sale period. Sailors, 3s lid for Is, 2s lid for 6d; flowers, Is lid for 6d; feathers, 3s lid for 9d: blouses, 4e lid for Is lid, 6s lid for 2a lid; capes, 17s 6d for 4s lid; macintoshes, 37s 6d for 14s lid; underskirts, 6s 6d for 2s lid; corsets, 4s 6d for 2s 6d; wool vests, Iβ 6d for 9d; gimp trimmings, 10£ d for Id; aprons, Is 6d for 9id, 2s lid for Iβ 6d; lace scarves and collarettes, 5s 6d for Is ll£d. Shop at once. Beath's Sale. 3

3,000,000 Envelopes, well assorted; 2000 reams note and letter papers, good and cheap; folio papers, eveiy size and quality. Thousands account books, all iizea and bindings, now on sale by H. J. Wood and Co., at unprecedentedly ,ow prices. Office requisites and stationers' sundries, oi best -quality. Large new stock of photo, albums ana photo, frames. Thousands of new boolcs, just landed, also immense assortment of cheap reading. A great sale of fancy goods upstairs. Inspection invited by H. J. Wood and Co., Stationers' Hall, High street. Remember the whole «toc!c ie to be sold off. 2362

Dinner and tea sete. —Fletcher Bros, have just opened up another fine assortment of dinner sets from 19s 6d upwards, tea sets from 7s 9d, bedroom e°ta from 13s 9d. China cups and eaucers, W. and G., 2s lid, L iink and celeete, 3 gold lines, 3s 6d, plain \fhite earthenware •Iβ 9d, all at half-dozen l/letcher Bros., China and glassware iinLower High Street, Cbri*tchurcb. —(Advt.)

Our cycle repairing capacity i« 30 to 60 piachinee We have the most complete manufacturing plant in Australasia, therefore we can effect the moet intricate repairs faithfully and reasonably. Oates, Lowry and Co., "Zealandia" Cycle Works, Ohristchnrch. 4746

If you have tho faintest suspicion tiiat your eyes are not just right, if they bother you in any way, it's best to have theiu examined at one*. Do not go to the optician or epectacta seller, for ht js unabie to distinguish between optical defect* and diseases, but consult John K. Procter, 180 High street, Christchurdi, who will give you a thorough examination free of chars* , s 2115